Buyer’s Guides

When Push Comes to Shoot by Rena Koontz

Emma Hunter’s tyrannical brother deserved to die, even if the manner of his murder was horror-movie gruesome. As a police lieutenant, she’s duty-bound to provide whatever assistance she can in hunting down her brother’s killer, but she doesn’t mourn his loss. Business acquaintances, former friends, and even his relatives agree the world is better off without the despicable bully.
With no clues and too many suspects, it looks like the murderer might be home free—until tenacious Detective Jared Jones’ suspicions turn to Emma’s sweet sister-in-law. Emma knows for a fact that her brother’s mentally and emotionally abused wife is innocent, but conflicting loyalties prevent her from speaking up and turning the investigation in the right direction. What’s best for her brother’s widow could cost Emma everything she values—her career, her reputation, even her freedom.

River Aria by Joan Schweighardt

By Book Lovers Magazine

River Aria by Joan Schweighardt

It’s 1928 and Estela Euquerio Hopper, an ambitious young woman from an impoverished area of Brazil, has landed a job at the New York Metropolitan Opera, though only to work in the sewing room. Her good fortune is due in part to her unique education and in part to the fact that her father is American. She hopes to make it from the sewing room to the stage, but there are obstacles in her way: her possessive father, her secretive cousin, and the wild temperament of the city itself in its pre-depression heyday.

You Do You by Daphne McDonagh

By Book Lovers Magazine

You Do You by Daphne McDonagh

Daphne McDonagh shares her life experiences with you and hopes you may find that one nugget in her story to assist you on your journey. For everyone that has struggled through life and felt they could not be themselves.

Yes, tragic and horrible things happen, but you do not need to stay stuck in the lower vibrating energy.
The choice is yours about what comes next.

It is time for all of us to shift our energy to one of compassion vs. competition.
May this inspire you to follow your heart and do what brings you joy.

Then There Were … Two Murders? by P.C. James

By Book Lovers Magazine

Then There Were … Two Murders? by P.C. James

‘Then There Were … Two Murders?’ is the second book in the Miss Riddell Cozy Mystery series. It follows directly after ‘In the Beginning, There was a Murder’ where, at the end, Miss Riddell receives a letter asking for her help.

The letter is from an elderly widow living out in the English countryside. It’s winter 1953/54 and England is still suffering from the after-effects of WW2 and the costs of the ongoing Korean War. Miss Riddell goes to meet the woman, arrives at her house only to find her dead, suicide apparently.

She tells the police why she was invited by the woman — the woman thought her friend had been murdered months before. However, the police and coroner rule this death to be suicide and dismiss the idea the earlier old woman’s death was anything but natural causes.

Miss Riddell sets out to prove them wrong with her friend Poppy and the old lady’s dog, Jem. Unfortunately, like the police, Miss Riddell can find no conclusive evidence and her supporters give up. Her only hope in the end is to put herself in harm’s way and hope the murderer takes the bait.

Beyond the Song by Carol Selick

By Book Lovers Magazine

Beyond the Song by Carol Selick

“Beyond the Song” is an autobiographical novel, based on the author’s coming of age in the ‘sixties and early ‘seventies. A singer-songwriter like her alter-ego Carol Marks, Carol Selick begins each chapter with lyrics she wrote and still performs today.
There’s a lot of nostalgia for that time period. In many ways, my character’s search for her voice expresses the search of a whole generation of women. The settings in New York and Berkeley, are immediately recognizable. Drugs, sex, and rock ‘ roll provide a provocative landscape for Carol’s journey into womanhood.